Posted by Dennis Jordan on 12/22/2007, 9:48 am, in reply to "My how times have changed at Wilson High!"
70.105.30.192
Okay. Everybody hates the ACLU. That's a given. No argument there.
But the crux of the whole problem was that the teacher got offended by what the child was wearing. It should not be the teachers role to decide what the child believes or what she wears to class as long as the child is not being disruptive.
As far as this being a "Christian Nation", I don't want to have to answer or change my beliefs for the Taliban OR for the Pat Robertson/Jerry Falwell groups in America. Today, it appears that Islamic groups in other countries have grown intolerant, but history tells us that traditionally, the Christians were the group that tolerated the least dissent. Our "Dark Ages" were dark because the Christians took a dim view of the sciences and arts that weren't of a religious nature. So while the Chinese (and Moslims)were recording astronomical events, and making major inroads in art, math and science, the Christians were afraid of putting something down on paper that might be viewed as heritical by the church. In more recent times,Galileo was put on house arrest for implying that the earth may have the audacity to revolve around the sun. A teacher named Scopes was put on trial for teaching evolution. Imagine being so arrogant that you won't allow your god to have you evolve from a lesser animal. Others were burned at the stake for lesser crimes. No doubt in a true Christian Nation, this young girl would have been burned or stoned for her "perversions".
So, do I want religion taught in the schools? No more than I want math, grammer, and government taught in Sunday school.
Should the Ten Commandments be on public buildings paid for with taxpayer money? Sure, if you can guarantee that all the taxpayers were Christians (you can't).
If the teachers insist on wasting precious school time instituting a "Christian" policy, can you also insist that the churches teach little Johnny to read?
When a teacher uses his/her authority (and wastes class time) to force a child to conform to their norms, ALL the children are denied the education they're entitled to and worse, the teachers risk being viewed as bullying a helpless child who can't fight back unless their parents are willing and affluent enough to hire a lawyer. The nail that stands out get hammered down. What a great lesson to teach an idealistic young person.
Maybe we need to spend a little less time hammering and more time teaching.
